Can an aunt marry her nephew?

Can an aunt marry her nephew?

Is it true that a new law authorises marriage between uncle and niece and aunt and nephew?

Ghyslaine, Les Avanchets

Articles 94 et seq. of the Civil Code deal with capacity to enter into marriage. Since 1 January 2000, marriage is no longer prohibited between an aunt and her nephew, an uncle and his niece, a mother-in-law and her son-in-law (ex-husband of her daughter) or a father-in-law and his daughter-in-law (ex-wife of his son). Under art. 95 of the Civil Code, marriage is now prohibited only between relatives in the direct line, and between relatives in the second-degree collateral line (brothers and sisters); these concepts were explained in detail in these columns last Saturday.

In the message relating to this amendment to the law, the Federal Council took the view that impediments to marriage should be limited to what is strictly necessary. It explained that today, the ties that exist between uncle and niece and aunt and nephew are no longer as close as they were in the days of large families, when they lived together and maintained very close relations, so that the risk of endangering family peace was no longer great enough to maintain this impediment to marriage. Moreover, our government considered that eugenic motives no longer had much significance in this relationship (third-degree collateral line). What's more, sexual relations between these people are not covered by article 213 of the Criminal Code, which punishes incest. For similar reasons, it was considered that the impediment in principle to marriage between relatives was no longer legitimate. Since 1 January 2006, another legislative amendment has even allowed marriage between a person and their spouse's child.

However, under art. 95 CC, marriage remains prohibited between relatives in the direct line, as well as between first-degree (same parents), consanguineous (same father) or uterine (same mother) siblings, regardless of whether the relationship is based on descent or adoption. It should also be noted that adoption does not remove the impediment resulting from the relationship between the adopted person and his descendants, on the one hand, and his natural family, on the other.